When Compared To Gehrig, Ripken Ahead In Count

August 30, 1992|By JACK O'CONNELL; Courant Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — Shortstop Cal Ripken remains on Lou Gehrig's trail -- 1,702 consecutive games and counting -- but is 429 games from the Iron Horse's durability record. When it comes to money, however, Ripken's new contract is something Gehrig did not come close to matching. The Orioles' signing of Ripken to a five-year, $30.5 million deal set no records. Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg is No. 1 at the bank with $7.1 million a year. But stop to consider what Gehrig, a former Yankees first baseman, earned in his career, and Ripken's numbers become staggering.

Gehrig, who played nearly every day for 15 seasons and had a career .340 average with 493 home runs before he was forced to retire because of a disease that now bears his name, began his career in 1923 at a salary of $2,200. He got up to $25,000 in 1927 and was paid that figure for six years before a change came in 1933. He was cut! To $23,000, which was also his salary in 1934, the year he won the Triple Crown (he hit .363 with 49 homers and 165 RBI) but lost to Tigers catcher Mickey Cochrane for MVP. Gehrig's biggest raise -- $8,000 -- came after that year. He got up to $36,000 in 1937, the year after he was the MVP. Gehrig's largest paycheck was in 1938 when he earned $39,000, but he took a $4,000 cut for the next season, which turned out to be his last. Gehrig was paid $386,400 for his entire career.

Ripken's annual income averages $6.1 million, or $37,654 a game. That means Ripken, 32, will make more money in one game than Gehrig did a year in all but two of his seasons. By the Orioles' 11th game in 1993, Ripken's pay will have surpassed Gehrig's career figure.

Smart money was on Cone Mets fans furious about the departure of righthander David Cone, who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, should be grateful for the almost six years of solid pitching they got for virtually nothing. The trade that brought Cone, 29, and catcher Chris Jelic to New York in 1987 from the Royals for pitcher Mauro Gozzo, backup catcher Ed Hearn and second-line pitcher Rick Anderson, was an absolute steal. Gozzo,

26, is 9-9 with a 3.46 ERA for the Twins' Triple A affiliate in Portland, Ore., and Hearn and Anderson were virtual career minor leaguers who had little impact with the Royals and were out of baseball within the next two years while Cone turned into a premier starter. Hearn, 32, suffers from a kidney disorder and is on dialysis at his home in Stuart, Fla., as he awaits a donor for transplant surgery. Cone, who had 214 strikeouts in the NL, leaves the NL with a 38-strikeout lead over the Braves' John Smoltz, who has 176, and has a shot to lead the league in strikeouts for the third consecutive year. ... Ripken's deal is viewed as a bad omen for the Twins in their hope to retain Kirby Puckett, 31, who surely commands as much, since his value to the Minnesota franchise is equal to Ripken's in Baltimore. "His value," Twins general manager Andy MacPhail said of Puckett, "will be determined by the free agent market and everything will be determined individually." Puckett, who is from Chicago, is certain to be pursued by the White Sox and Cubs. The center fielder, who is hitting .328 with 18 homers and 91 RBI, says the Ripken contract means nothing to his situation yet. "Everything is still the same as before Ripken signed," Puckett said Friday. "There are no negotiations, so nothing could've changed. I'm sure [Ripken's signing] will affect my situation, but I won't know how until the end of the season."

Replay called to mind Angels second baseman Luis Sojo, who hit .481 against Yankees pitching this season, was visited in New York last weekend by his parents, who planned their vacation to coincide with the Angels' stop there. They got to watch him play at Yankee Stadium and get a game-winning hit. Sojo's father said it was only the second of Luis' games he attended. "I'd rather watch on television," the senior Sojo said. "There are no replays at the ballpark." A common complaint of fans. Those big screens at many parks, including Yankee and Shea Stadiums, were supposed to provide that feature, but umpires complain about being subjected to abuse when close calls are shown, so that has been eliminated. Actually, the screens' primary functions are as advertising tools. No place is more blatantly commercial than the Metrodome. Every half inning, some feature is blared over the sound system and on the screen presented by some product or other. "The seventh-inning stretch is brought to you by. ... " It is getting ridiculous, but it will only get worse. As the economy continues to hold down attendance, clubs keep lookingteams continue to look to the corporate world for increased revenue through sponsorship. ... Do Bay Area residents really want to keep the Giants? A "Save the Giants" rally in downtown San Francisco at noon Friday attracted an estimated 250.